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3 Sep 2015

Faber-Castell is a brand synonymous with luxury and quality. Their pencils are a staple in my pen pot and add a bit of sophistication to an otherwise more playful selection of pens that form the basis of my day-to-day use. The lovely Megan at Launch PR gave me the opportunity to branch out and try another Faber-Castell offering so today, I have the pleasure of introducing the Faber-Castell Aqua Ambition Fountain Pen with a medium nib.

PACKAGING

The pen arrived in a lovely gift box that pulls out with the tab you can see on the right. Inside, there is an instruction manual which include instructions for other Faber-Castell pens too.

DESIGN

First Impression - When I first saw this pen and held it, what struck me was the quality and how beautiful the colour was. The pen is also quite heavy (28g according to Goulet Pens) which adds to that luxurious first impression. The aqua colour definitely has that wow factor and from what I gather, this colour is a limited edition version of the Ambition fountain pen range.

Aesthetic Appeal - The design is great when you first look at it - the barrel isn't too thick, nor is it too thin. It is definitely one of the prettier pens in my collection at the moment with the aqua completing the silver steel cap very well.

Fingerprint Hoarder - The metal cap hoards my fingerprints like there's no tomorrow. It doesn't really bother me but if this is the sort of thing that gets to you, this may not be the pen for you.

Length - The pen is 14cm in length when closed, the body is 12cm, the cap at 4.5cm and 15.7cm with the cap posted. It's not as long as a Lamy Safari when posted and the barrel isn't as thick either.

Cap - The majority of weight on this pen belongs to the cap. When posted, the pen is very top heavy so I prefer to use it unposted. However, the one great thing that I love is that the cap clicks when you post it and when you close the pen. It's such a satisfying sound to hear.

Plastic Barrel - Although the barrel is made of plastic, it does seem quite sturdy. I like the design which adds enough texture to make the pen interesting but not so much that it feels uncomfortable to hold.

NIBMedium Nib - As you can see in the picture below, the nib has a pretty dotted pattern to it with the Faber-Castell logo under the letter 'M'. I try and go as fine as possible when it comes to nibs but unfortunately, this limited edition only comes with a medium nib. This worried me as my handwriting can often get 'drowned out' by thicker nibs. More on this later!

Grip - There is very little space between the plastic barrel and the nib itself. This makes it hard to grip the pen lower down and also means that it makes changing ink cartridges without getting ink on your fingers a bit of a mission. If you hold your pens quite low down, this probably isn't the pen for you. For me, this is fine as I alter my grip depending on what pen I'm using so this is a non-issue.

WRITING and EXPERIENCEControl - When unposted, I find the pen easier to control as the weight is more evenly distributed.

Writing for Extended Periods - When using fountain pen, I like my handwriting to be joined up as I feel that's the only way to do the pen justice and this means I don't have to grip the pen as tightly. As a result, using this pen for an extended period of time doesn't become a chore and I experienced no cramping - something I often get with gel pens due to my want to print everything!

The writing samples you'll see below were part of a one hour note-making session and there isn't much of a difference between my handwriting at the beginning and at the end. Therefore, I can take this to mean that using the pen didn't tire out my hand excessively.

Nib Worries - Earlier, I voiced my concerns about the medium nib being a bit too thick for my handwriting but this was mostly unfounded. There are a few words that don't look right (look for 'of' in the photos below as an obvious example) but that might just be me nit-picking!

Ink Flow - The one great thing about this fountain pen is that it started writing as soon as I put the ink cartridge in. It came with a standard short international ink cartridge (yay) and that's what you'll see in the photos below. There was a little bit of skipping which happened four times in total (I wrote four sides of A4 in this time) but that may be due to the paper used/me writing a bit too fast.

Overall

To conclude, the Faber-Castell OpArt Ambition fountain pen is a pleasure to write with and its design is beautiful, even if I had to change my grip ever so slightly in order to use it.

Thank you to Megan from Launch PR for sending me this sample. Although I was supplied this sample free of charge, I have reviewed it as if I had paid for it and have tried to be as impartial as possible. The links in this post are not affiliate-linked.

I was the same but I went back to them in 2013 and gradually, it's become the type of pen I reach for more than any other. Still use gel pen in my planner but fountain pens are amazing for long periods of note taking :) x